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WESTERN LEADER, JANUARY 24, 2012
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Annual boat ramp survey
Recreational boaties
can expect to be
approached by Coast-
guard volunteers over
the next few weeks as
they start the Maritime
New Zealand annual
boat ramp survey.
The survey will be
conducted over Janu-
ary and early Febru-
ary.
Results are critical in
measuring the effec-
tiveness of the Boating
Safety Strategy which
was developed by
Pleasure Boat Safety
Forum, a group created
to help reduce boating
fatalities.
Coastguard presi-
dent Colin Small says
this year's survey is
particularly important
because it has been six
years since the organis-
ation adopted the Boat-
ing Safety Strategy.
The results of the
boat ramp survey will
help Coastguard in
determining the direc-
tion we need to be
taking to keep the
number of boating
incidents down,'' he
says.
There has been a
vast improvement in
safe boating behaviour
and the use of safety
equipment and com-
munication devices by
pleasure boaties but
there still seems to be a
knowledge gap for
many heading out on
the water.''
Coastguard respond-
ed to more than 3300
calls nationwide in the
past 12 months, many
of which could have
been prevented with
better preparation by
skippers.
Last year's survey
showed a 10 percent
decrease in the number
of boaties checking the
weather and marine
forecasts before head-
ing onto the water
which should be one of
the first things they do
before taking the boat
out,'' Mr Small says.
This signals to us
the urgent need for a
more targeted ap-
proach toward prep-
aration and planning.''
The survey is volun-
tary but those who par-
ticipate go in the draw
to win prizes including
radios and life jackets.
Visit www.coastguard.
co.nz for more details.
Community on watch
Look out: Tom Emerson with the Honda sedan donated to the Piha Community Patrol.
By VANITA PRASAD
Tom Emerson and Piha
Community Watch are
on a mission to reduce
crime in their town.
The Piha Community
Watch started up after a
town meeting in Sept-
ember organised by Mr
Emerson.
And from that came a
small group of police-
vetted volunteers who
hit Piha's streets to
monitor the area on ran-
dom patrols.
They've also acquired
a Honda sedan for their
patrols, a donation from
the Botany Crimewatch
Patrol.
Mr Emerson says the
organisation
works
closely with the police
who give the group infor-
mation on criminal
activity in the area.
The builder says the
group isn't about
vigilante action and is
focused on being the eyes
and ears of the police.
Mr Emerson says his
motivation for organis-
ing the group was
triggered when his work
vehicles had been broken
into and some stolen.
I was annoyed at
what had happened and
I didn't think anyone of
us should put up with it,''
he says.
As a small community
we have the opportunity
to put a stop to it.''
Piha residents, who
can often be divided on
political issues, need to
put those differences
aside and unite to stop
crime, he says.
It's not about whether
acafeisgoodorbad--I
don't think too many
people out here would be
pro-burglars, apart from
the burglars of course.''
He says the patrol is
looking for more Piha
volunteers to join the
ranks.
We've had a lot of
positive feedback from
the community but we
need more local people to
do patrols.
We could also do with
some sponsorship for
petrol for the patrols we
do.''
The
community
watchdogs are part of a
larger group, Com-
munity Patrols New Zea-
land, which assists more
than 130 community
groups throughout the
country.
Piha resident Olivia
McPherson says the
patrol initiative is excel-
lent. Piha has been in
need of a Community
Patrol for some time now
-- we had a really bad
year in terms of home
and car break-ins in
2011 and we definitely
need a designated team
on the ground keeping
an eye on things.
To know that there
are volunteers that any-
one in the community
can call on at any time to
come and assist in a
potentially difficult situ-
ation gives locals a lot of
peace of mind.''
Email Tom Emerson at
tom@ebc.net.nz for more
information.